Hang on for a minute...we're trying to find some more stories you might like.

Email This Story

Send email to this addressEnter Your NameAdd a comment hereVerification

“Take her to jail!” Officer Steve Dyke of the Chico Police Department commanded as he pointed at Madeline Hemphill, knee dug into the back of her roommate, Nicole Braham.

Nicole Braham, 19, Chico State student. Photo credit: Lucas Moran

Hemphill was recording Dyke on her phone as he was arresting Braham for a broken license plate light. Both girls ended up in jail that night.

In their view, their only crime was challenging the ego of an officer with a desire for retribution.

How it started

The incident began when Hemphill and her roommate, Telvina Patino, observed Officer Dyke and another officer investigating a possible DUI about a block from their house. Concerned that the officer was being aggressive, Hemphill began recording the incident.

Officer Dyke ordered her to step out of the street and onto the sidewalk. She complied, but says Officer Dyke was not willing to let it go, according to Hemphill.

Maddie Hemphill, 21, Chico State student. Photo credit: Lucas Moran

“He wasn’t even paying attention to the sobriety test any more,” Hemphill said. “He was just focusing on me.”

Meanwhile, Braham had approached the scene in Patino’s car and saw her roommates. Patino entered the vehicle, but Hemphill did not for fear that the officers would retaliate against Braham by association.

The situation gets physical

Braham drove to her home one block down the street and attempted to park her car, but was cut off as Officer Dyke’s cruiser pulled up behind them.

Upon exiting the vehicle, she was blocked by Officer Dyke. According to a press release from Chico Police Department, Dyke instructed Braham to get back in the vehicle to which she told him she was trying to go home.

Afterward, Dyke yelled that she was being detained and to drop her things. “I took a step forward and he grabbed both of my arms, slammed them on Telvina’s car, rag dolled me around on the car and moved me to the police car,” Braham said.

Patino began recording the arrest (video above). Braham can be heard complaining that the officer was hurting her. “The reason that it looks like I’m pulling away from the police officer is because he was holding my fingers bent in his hand,” Braham said. “He was bending my fingernail.”

Dyke then twisted Braham’s arm, causing her to turn away and brought her down to the ground. The ensuing struggle gives the appearance of resisting arrest. “I couldn’t untwist my arm,” Braham said. “He moved my body. I just took steps to not fall.”

With Braham on the ground and in cuffs, Dyke turned his attention to Hemphill, who was recording on her phone and demanding an explanation for the arrest. Dyke commanded backup officers at the scene to “take (Hemphill) to jail,” she said.

The press release further states that Hemphill resisted being handcuffed. She claims she was tackled into a bush.

What happened after the video

Both girls claim they were not informed of their charges until hours later when they were brought to Butte County Jail, nor were they ever read their Miranda rights.

“The only thing that sounded anything like ‘You’re being arrested,’ was ‘You’re going to jail, honey,’” Braham said.

Police laughed and joked about the girls’ situation, Hemphill said.

When Braham and Hemphill stated they were Chico State students, Officer Dyke replied “Not much longer,” according to Hemphill. The students were unknowingly taken to a holding cell, feeling left in the dark and fearing for their safety.

Between the two accounts of the incident, Chico Police Department has no record of Hemphill’s phone at the scene. Both girls claim an officer at the station asked if police could keep the video on the phone as evidence.

“During the investigation, it was learned Hemphill had lost her cellular phone during the arrest,” according to the Chico PD press release. Officers searched for Hemphill’s phone at the scene, in the police station and in the patrol vehicle, but was never recovered.

Hemphill said that after her phone left her possession she received two emails regarding a password change on her iCloud account. She believes authorities attempted to change her password then, she was prompted to change it back.

The missing phone holds both the video of her initial confrontation with Officer Dyke as well as an additional video of Braham’s arrest, she said.

What happens now

Since this incident occurred on the morning of Aug. 27, Braham and Hemphill have posted the video of their arrest to social media in an attempt to prove that they were mistreated by police.

Both women believe that Officer Dyke acted in retaliation and they are seeking, at minimal, an apology for the way they were treated.

“What did they solve? Who did they help?” Hemphill said. Braham added that she no longer feels safe in her community.

Braham and Hemphill were charged with resisting arrest and are awaiting their day in court.

47 Responses to “Two Chico State students arrested by police, video goes viral”

Mike on
August 30th, 2016 3:05 pm

Ms Hemphill your an idiot. You my dear are the reason the police get a bad rap. You were drunk. You refused to listen to the police. This is not a party. Grow up. Oh wait you just turned twenty one. Was the driver of the vehicle over 21? We’re you contributing to a minor who was 19? Please go away. You got your five minutes of fame not grow up or go away.

Johnny on
August 31st, 2016 4:10 pm

“You my dear” get out of here with your sexist, patronizing dismissal.

Dan on
September 3rd, 2016 12:55 pm

BRAINLESS Mikey: you need to shut your crapeater until you take a remedial “comprehension for morons” course. Her 19 year old ADULT friend was the NON DRINKING DESIGNATED DRIVER—-NOT DRINKING and NOT a MINOR GSTFU and kill yourself after you wipe Lucifer Dykes jizz off your butt and lips.

Joan Howey on
August 30th, 2016 6:38 pm

As a parent of a child that attends CSU Chico, I’m extremely disappointed in the act of officer Dyke. He took the situation personally, and took actions into his own hands, that should have never occurred. If officer Dyke is not reprimanded, I would question the integrity of this police department.

Sarah on
September 1st, 2016 9:41 pm

Is this because you are worried your child will also make such a poor decision? He tried to pull her over and she refused to cooperate… not that hard to do and very easily could have avoided this.

Megan on
August 30th, 2016 6:42 pm

I am so appalled that The Orion would publish such a biased “news” article. This article leans heavily on the accounts of these two young women and even includes a portion where one of the women is essentially insinuating that the police have her phone and are trying to access and possibly hide the videos she took of these two arrests. The police report and its contents are barely mentioned, and this article doesn’t even mention that the one young woman had a .141 BAC at the time of her arrest.

This isn’t a news article, but an opinion column, and I can’t believe that such a prestigious, award winning paper would publish something like this and try to pass it off as news. I expect this type of “reporting” from websites like Total Sorority Move, but I never imagined reading something like this from this paper.

Rich Johnson on
September 1st, 2016 12:50 am

Megan, if you read newspapers and followed stories on TV you’d know excessive is THE major issue today in policing. You would also know police labor unions and many Police Chiefs all over US have fought having officers wear cameras. They don’t want the cameras because of incidents like this. You have a cop here in this video with anger management problems completely mishandling a minor traffic matter – his Rambo like approach has caused all the problems, not the college students. Most locals, I should add, are aware of the incident that took place up in Paradise where a Paradise Police officer shot and killed a drunk driver who was crawling out of a wrecked car. As a result of that incident the City of Paradise is being sued for millions. Cops with anger management issues, or cops that are poorly trained – such you see in this video – can be a serious problem in the community, they can even kill people without justification, as we saw in Paradise a couple of years ago. I think these young students did the community a service by filming this incident, they should be commended for their actions.

Megan on
September 1st, 2016 10:36 am

Rich, did you even read my original comment? Because what you’re commenting was not my point at all. My point was that good journalism is not one sided. The type of journalism expected from a nationally acclaimed, multi-award winning paper should be unbiased. I’m not saying that they should interview the girls and tell their side of the story, but that the Chico PD’s account should also be included in this article so that both points on view are given. What I’m saying and criticizing is the way this article was written and that it somehow made it off the editor’s desk and into print, both online and in the print edition of the paper. This is not a news article, but an opinion column, since the writer is leaning so heavily on the two girls’ accounts. The examples I pulled from the article in my original comment were to show how much this article is insinuating and how biased it is so that the writer may learn from this experience, and they were not to blame the girls or give an opinion of my own. If you would like my opinion, I’d be happy to give it to you, but I think you should go reread my original comment before jumping down my throat with your opinion that is completely unrelated to my original comment.

And I have been reading multiple accounts from multiple news sources, because I like to be an informed member of the community. But, again, you wouldn’t know that because my original comment wasn’t about my opinions of this situation.

Megan on
September 1st, 2016 10:38 am

I just noticed that I missed a “not.” The sentence should read, “I’m not saing that they shouldn’t interview the girls . . .”

John on
September 1st, 2016 7:08 pm

Actually Rich, it just looks like these two girls were simply resisting arrest, and it pissed off the cop. Sorry, but when you’re resisting being handcuffed as a DUI suspect, you’re going to have a bad time. This is just furthering the circlejerk that the police are bad people. If they simply listened to what the officer wanted them to do, they wouldn’t have been in this situation.

Sarah on
September 1st, 2016 9:47 pm

I agree that this isn’t news. this is the orion enabling two stupid ignorant children. The video these girls posted clearly shows her resisting and throwing herself around on the ground. The officer is not moving enough to be tossing her around like a rag doll, as they put it. And as for the shooting in Paradise… I would say again, if these dumb ass kids didn’t put themselves in theese situations to begin with then these problems wouldn’t happen. That boy was on butte countys most wanted and had a very long rap sheet. Obviously Rich Johnson you need to start looking at why these situations came to be before you continue to spew hate on these officers

Bobbi on
November 9th, 2017 12:54 pm

There was nothing right about the paradise situation. Most wanted or not he outright shot an unarmed man. Obviously you must have been an exceptional kid that never did anything wrong. The girls are at an age that sometimes you make poor choices but that doesn’t make them bad people. So instead of calling them ignorant girls maybe you should keep your ignorant remarks to yourself. No one should be man handled by the police for a simple traffic violation

Emily on
September 3rd, 2016 8:56 am

They should be commended for not listening to a police officer? For not just sucking it up and getting back into their car? Of course there are examples you can pull of other officers being brutal in different cases but seriously? These girls were dumb. This whole situation could have been avoided if they had just stayed in the car.

Wes Keener on
September 3rd, 2016 5:39 pm

Megan hit the nail on the head. When Rich watches the video he sees a cop with anger problems. When sane people watch the video they see uncooperative children whose parents never taught them what to do when getting stopped by police.

Madeline Hemphill on
August 30th, 2016 8:31 pm

I would like to extend my deepest thanks to everyone at the Orion- you are the one news outlet that mentioned our side of the story, not just the cops take on what happened (which is riddled with lies). You have given us hope. This is what real journalism is. Thank you so so so much.

Anna on
August 31st, 2016 2:38 pm

yes, because that is how we solve problems nowadays… post videos and go onto social media… and get pity “likes”… good for you…
I have a daughter too, 21 years old, goes to Chico… and all I can say, watching that video and reading the Police Report, is that if you were my daughter, I would personally be driving to Chico and bringing you back home.. you are noat ready for the ‘adult’ world.
Let’s hope you never get robbed or attached on your way home, and need to call the same Police Officers you show such disrespect for.
you’ve had a complete disregard for authority, complete disregard for the safety of those that were around you.. and are making a fool of yourself by posting in social media, because THIS will remain online FOREVER… for every future employer to see…

Wes Keener on
September 3rd, 2016 5:40 pm

Speak on it, Anna. Well said.

Michael Perinelli on
September 1st, 2016 4:54 am

Power to you girl for standing up to these abuses of power. Get any hits from “find my iPhone?”

Megan on
September 1st, 2016 10:52 am

It’s funny that you say that The Orion is the only news outlet that published your side of the story, Madeline, because I know that other papers and news teams have contacted you and your friend to get your statements.

Also, no, this is not real journalism. Real journalism publishes both your and the Chico PD’s sides of the story. Real journalism would never publish the accusation that the police are trying to hack into your Cloud to cover this up. Real journalism would have published your blood alcohol level (.141, if I’m not mistaken). Real journalism tells the truth and doesn’t pick sides.

(And for those of you who can’t tell, like our friend Rich Johnson a few comments up couldn’t, I am not giving my opinion on what happened. I just find it hilarious that Madeline would call this “real journalism” and that she claims that this is the only news source that asked and would publish their statements.)

Bob on
August 30th, 2016 8:34 pm

What is wrong with these stupid girls? Stay in the car, follow instructions and take the stupid fix it ticket. No one likes being pulled over for any reason.

Cops are paid to be aggressive. They go around and aggressively in force laws.

This is just a couple of stupid girls.

Robert Ebert on
August 31st, 2016 6:58 am

All that for a fix it ticket give me a break these redneck police up here in Chico seem to be showing there bellies and the color… YELLOW! AS far as I know when detaining a female suspect a female officer supposed to be involved

Sarah on
September 1st, 2016 9:50 pm

Yes all that over a fix it ticket because SHE did not listen and stay in the car and instead tried to shove her way past the officer.. to avoid a fix it ticket.. how is that the cops fault?

Richard Johnson on
August 31st, 2016 8:52 am

This was NOT Chico PD’s finest hour, that’s for sure. The cop – cop #1 – who pinned the women college student on the ground completely over-reacted to what was happening, which wasn’t much. Basically this big dumb cop just arrested a couple of looky-loos for a whole lot of nuthin, wasting everybody’s time and making the cop wrestling the college girl on the ground look like a complete fool – which he is. Had the women gotten hurt the during the arrest – which never should have happened to begin with – the city could have been a target of multi-million dollar law suits.
In reviewing the video I think it’s clear the officer wrestling with the looky- loo on the ground -officer #1 – may be in the need of some sort of psychiatric help, he’s likely suffering from police stress. The cop seemed unusually angry at the women during this incident – and then there was this ludicrous “Dirty Harry” act he puts on, barking orders and throwing this college girl on the ground, I mean this incident was just ridiculous at every level. Amazingly, the Chico Police Chief got on he news the other night claiming this arrest of the looky-loos was just ” textbook “, I mean anybody who reviews this video can see the officer doing the bad “Dirty Harry” imitation instigated the whole “arrest” because he let his anger over getting filmed while doing a DUI get out of control. Anytime an officer goes bezerk over such a minor situation like this I think you can surmise the officer may need treatment for police stress.
The officer that arrived on the seen later though did a great job. If you review the video you will see how calm officer #2 is, he knows he’s gotten involved in an emotional situation, lot’s of screaming, yelling and crying, but he’s handling it all with aplomb, unlike this other idiot officer, who instigated the whole out-of-control incident with his bad temper and his stupidity.
If I was City manager of Chico I would be worried – very worried – Chico PD has officers on the street with anger management issues at the level officer #1 has – they can be ticking-time bombs. I also would be head scratching over the Police Chief coming out and giving his ” seal of approval ” on this dubious arrest. Doesn’t the Chico Police Chief read the newspapers? Excessive force is the number 1 police issue today with citizens. Cities are also being sued right and left because of the actions of dumb cops like this one. Had this cop taken a community policing class at junior college he would know you kill citizen with kindness -that’s what professional cops do, but Chico PD had at least one Dirty Harry working a beat, which may cost the City of Chico a lot of money down the line. If I was the City manager of Chico I would be having meetings with the Police Chief right now ordering him to put this officer on stress leave right NOW. We do not need cops on the street with horrible anger management problems, they can be dangerous to residents, as this video shows.

Jax on
August 31st, 2016 10:11 am

Officer dyke has always been that way.

“No record of her phone” meaning: CPD destroyed evidence. (again)

He (dyke) has always had his eyes on pretty girls. Stay out of his way ladies, got my fare share of “pat downs” when I was 16 and homeless in Chico. He WILL “search” you…and if you ask for a woman to be present he’ll tell you “you don’t deserve to have a woman present”

That’s what he said to me before shoving his hand down the back of my pants, under my underwear and grabbed my ass…he then shoved his hand down my friends shirt under her bra. We were 16 and 17 yr old, alcoholic, homeless girls with no legitimate friends…..

He (they) knew this…..

No…I never reported it….. I never reported being raped by 3 squad cars full of cops on old 32 when I was 16 either……

All I can say is…..

If you are a woman, get out of Chico A.S.A.P!

Travis on
September 2nd, 2016 8:35 am

Raped by three squad cars?? You should seek help.

Zack Taloy on
August 31st, 2016 11:13 am

What the officer did was completely illegal and he will be facing the consequences. He needs to go back to training, understand a person’s constitutional rights, and go to anger management.

Zack Taloy on
August 31st, 2016 11:14 am

Oh yeah, and the Chico Police need to issue an apology right away.

Zack Taloy on
August 31st, 2016 11:23 am

And, the police need a warrant to search her phone. They did everything wrong. Riley vs California Supreme Court Ruling: Modern cell phones are not just another technological convenience. With all they contain and all they may reveal, they hold for many Americans “the privacies of life,” Boyd, supra, at 630. The fact that technology now allows an individual to carry such information in his hand does not make the information any less worthy of the protection for which the Founders fought. Our answer to the question of what police must do before searching a cell phone seized incident to an arrest is accordingly simple— get a warrant.

Zack Taloy on
August 31st, 2016 11:26 am

And the officer had no reason to ask for ID. You do not need to show ID. No your rights, everyone.

Sherri Quammen on
August 31st, 2016 6:13 pm

“No your rights” See, I new (knew) I was right about you.

Travis on
September 2nd, 2016 8:27 am

Zack you obviously have no idea what you are talking about. When you are pulled over by police you are being legally detained. That means you have to follow directions given to you. When you don’t follow directions then YOU raise the level of the contact and the cop has every right to enforce the law. Great case law quote but of course you don’t have any facts or evidence to back that up, typical. Lets see… the drunk girls probably have no idea where their phone is because….they are drunk girls. These girls are nothing more then snotty little privileged drama queens.

Anna on
August 31st, 2016 2:30 pm

as a parent of a CSU Chico student I am appalled at the biased reporting… I would hope the “media” would be more proactive in educating these young adults on how to behave when a Police Office makes a stop:
when a Police Officer stops you, no matter what you did (or think you did), you stop, put your hands on the wheel, and wait for the Police Office to instruct you…
If you are walking, you stop, you sit on the curb, and you wait for the Police Office to instruct you.
Stop. Wait.
I repeat this to my daughters all the time… if you follow the law, nobody gets hurt.
Parents (and media) have an obligation to educate young people, no matter what their skin color is, on how to react and respond to a Police stop.
We teach our children how to behave in case they get into a car accident, they need to exchange insurance documents… we teach them that if someone robs them or points a gun to them, not to fight back, material things can be replaced… and we should teach them that when a Police Officer stops them, they need to stop, and wait for instructions… This is ridiculous, and shame on us for not doing a better job preparing these young adults for the real world.
A police officer has no idea what you are hiding in your purse, or car, or hands… or why you refuse to cooperate. They must do what they need to do to protect themselves, as well as those around them.
If these ladies were my daughters, I would
1) slap them silly for making an embarrassment of themselves, and not respecting authority, and
2) make sure to explain to them that it does not matter if they were right or wrong, the next time they get stopped by the Police, they need to cooperate, and not be so worried/busy video taping the scene… these are the same Police Officers that will come running to them when they get their apartments robbed, or car broken into, or worse, rapped outside a party… they are part of “our team”… show them some respect.
The Orion has a responsibility to report both sides of this story, and use the platform to teach and protect these young adults, that at times, are clueless.
I saw the video… these girls think screaming, whining and yelling is the way to behave with a Police Officer? now they have a record, for life. Good luck with that!
I am 100% sure next time they get stopped they will behave accordingly.

Rich Johnson on
September 1st, 2016 2:01 pm

This post is likely a “planted” post by somebody hooked up with Chico PD – maybe even the PD Chief himself. This story is not biased, the video shows you exactly what happened. This big dumb macho cop – pretending to be “Dirty Harry”- turned a fix it ticket stop into a ridiculous wrestling match with a college student – which ended up going viral – which just advertises the fact you’ve got a cop on Chico PD who has such bad anger management issues he probably needs to be issued a rubber gun. A fix-it ticket was the “crime” that set this ridiculous incident into motion! The fix-it ticket, I should add, was most certainly just a pretext for the officer to stop the driver, cops with bad ethics do that a lot. They often use violence to get their way t, when a little kindness will do the trick – as we see in this video .Finally, did anyone else notice how much trouble this big cop had arresting a 105 pound girl? For most of the video it appears the girl is easily is winning the wrestling match with the 200 pound cop! Not Chico PD’s finest hour, no question about that.

Anita on
September 1st, 2016 7:49 pm

Well said.

After a cop says you are being detained it doesn’t matter what you think or want to do at that moment. It is not up for debate, discussion or public polling. At that point you stay in your car or if walking sit on the curb. Even if you are in your own driveway, that does not give one the right to ignore the Officers request. There are reasons why the officer asks you to stay in the car or to sit? It is for the officer’s safety. He can only assume the reason you will not comply is because you have something to hide. Rules are rules, they have protocol they follow regardless of your age, sex or race.

I feel sorry that these basic life skills are so rare in younger people. Try going on a ride along and see what and how sitautions like this occur from start to finish. You still won’t really understand, but you may keep yourself out of future trouble. Sometimes it is smart to do what your told without being given a reason, this was one of those times.

Many of us have been pulled over for fix-it type tickets like these girls. Most of us stayed in the vehicle gave the officer our registration and insurance information. We were then let go with a warning and got it fixed soon after.

Long story short this girl should have just followed the instructions given by the officer like others do and this could have all been avoided. When you make stupid decisions and make a big deal out of it there are consequences. End of story.

Travis on
September 2nd, 2016 8:30 am

Couldn’t agree more. I know I won’t see my kids on a video like this because they have common sense.

QuiosCoz on
August 31st, 2016 4:30 pm

it went viral because the girls on the video are so funny!!
the correct title for this article should be “What not do to when the Police stops you”

Sherri Quammen on
August 31st, 2016 6:11 pm

Zack, you are an idiot and you are the reason why the cops feel themselves entitled to intimidate and brutalize the masses. If you can’t see that officer Dyke was so wrong for what he did then you are deaf dumb and blind with the accentuation on dumb. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind your girlfriend her daughter being treated like that, right?

Sherri Quammen on
August 31st, 2016 6:14 pm

Zack, you are an idiot and you are the reason why the cops feel themselves entitled to intimidate and brutalize the masses. If you can’t see that officer Dyke was so wrong for what he did then you are deaf dumb and blind with the accentuation on dumb. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind your girlfriend or daughter being treated like that, right?

Travis on
September 2nd, 2016 8:32 am

Pretty sure you are the idiot Sherri, learn some facts about the law before you spread your ignorance.

Manuel on
August 31st, 2016 8:25 pm

Two drunk Chico State bimbos acting a fool and got called on it. What else is new?

vad on
September 1st, 2016 9:24 am

If this was a smartphone that was lost – did the girls try to use “find my phone” function? it would show where it is.

Charles Withuhn on
September 11th, 2016 1:25 pm

they did. see the CN&R editor’s editorial

Wanda Redman on
September 1st, 2016 2:40 pm

Here we go with the whiny, I’m a student, I’m a woman, I’m going to call my mommy, I don’t have to do what you tell me to do nonsense. Here’s a clue, stop being stupid, start listening, stop thinking that your poor decisions have no consequences and grow up. I’m sure your parents would appreciate that. I’m sure the City of Chico would appreciate it. I know I would. Thank you and have a good day!

Shucky Ducky on
September 8th, 2016 8:58 pm

A bunch of cop apologists here. Given the fact that we are an evolved species you would think that those whom are responsible for protecting us would not treat us like a baby in a gorilla tank. We are better than that. Let thank sink in you savages.

Chris Nelson on
September 12th, 2016 6:59 pm

We attended the Human Relations Network meeting today and heard first hand how insular and self congratulatory the police are. I sympathize with them about what a difficult job they have but do not think their review process will allow them to be objective about this or any violent arrest because they only have internal review- and all think the same. I think Citizens Review would help us get to the bottom of this and get retraining or release from the position for cops who are misusing their power. Likewise, young people could learn from what these women went through in how to deal with police safely. I am so sorry for all the trauma and hope some good can come out of a bad situation. Hang in there.

TPS on
September 28th, 2016 11:23 am

What a ridiculous article. The Orion and author of this piece should be ashamed of themselves. Getting pulled over is easy. Stop your car, stay in your car, hands on the wheel, obey commands, and do not obstruct justice. Everyone hates being pulled over, but the fact they were in front of their home doesn’t make them immune to the law like some proverbial safe space.